Writing anything fantastical or speculative usually comes down to a novel-long discussion of one surprisingly ordinary question: what if?
What if there were ghosts who could move through the walls? What if a man were to turn into salt? What if there was a book of real prophecies? These questions form clear starting points and, fundamentally, the bread of the plot – but character, place and where to begin are the meat.
In this masterclass with Natasha Pulley, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and creative writing lecturer, you will be guided through the strategies that work together to create magical realism, from planning the story and right the way through to execution.
Blending practical writing exercises with theory and discussion, this masterclass will give you the tools and inspiration to build your ideas into a novel.
This course is for …
Writers of any skill level and with any amount of experience in the craft
Ideas for a story are not necessary; everyone will most definitely have at least one by the end of this workshop
Course content
Finding your ideas – quickly and easily
That first idea: begin extrapolating the bones into more complex world-building
How to use historical language to enrich your work
Begin thinking about novel structure
Q&A
Tutor profile
Natasha Pulley studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University. After studying for two years in Tokyo, she published her first novel, the Sunday Times bestselling The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Her fifth novel, The Half Life of Valery K, was published in June 2022.
Details
Date: Wednesday 16 November 2022
Time: 6.30pm-9pm (GMT)
Price: £65 (plus £3.56)
This masterclass is available globally. See this time zone converter to check your local live streaming time.
6.30pm GMT | 7.30pm CET | 10.30am PST | 1.30pm EST
You will be sent a link to the webinar 24 hours and 30 minutes before the course start time. Please email masterclasses@theguardian.com if you do not receive the access link 24 hours before the scheduled start time.
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Once a purchase is complete we will not be able to refund you where you do not attend or if you cancel your event booking. Please see our terms and conditions for more information on our refund policy.
